


High Rise (Eye to Eye with Fireworks)

by Dekka



Series: Postural Hypotension AU [2]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fainting, M/M, postural hypotension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:29:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21509506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dekka/pseuds/Dekka
Summary: "I was on WebMD," Auston answers, painfully honest.Mitch's nose scrunches up, all pixelated over FaceTime. "Who's dying?""You, apparently," Auston chirps.Mitch's laugh is too loud for two am, but Auston finds himself smiling despite it, clicking his phone's volume down a notch or two. His bed, that just hours ago felt impossible to get comfortable in, suddenly feels a lot more forgiving.(The Sequel)
Relationships: Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews
Series: Postural Hypotension AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550362
Comments: 36
Kudos: 203





	High Rise (Eye to Eye with Fireworks)

If someone asked who was the worst complainer on the team, Auston would throw Mitch under the bus in a heart beat. Maybe even less, depending on the day.

Mitch complains about stupid stuff mostly, like the songs Auston plays in the car or the way Hymie gets on his nerves during drills. 

What he doesnt complain about is the real stuff, like his postural hypotension or the way he has to brave mornings without coffee because the caffeine makes his already too-fast heart beat go hyper speed. 

The heat in the summer is one of those things that toes the line of ‘things Mitch complains about’ and ‘things Mitch very carefully doesnt mention.’ 

On hot days, Auston commonly finds his boyfriend sat on the kitchen title in their new apartment, Mitch’s bare legs pressed to the cold floor. Mitch always looks up with an easy smile, his phone forgotten in his hand as Auston joins him, sitting shoulder to shoulder with their backs against their island counter. 

On humid days it’s anyone’s bet where Mitch’ll be. He could be in the tub, shaking in cold water just to stop the dizziness, or sometimes just splayed out wherever he managed to get to before he passed out. 

Experiencing the heat this way has admittedly made Auston’s love for summer go sour. Things he took for granted last year no longer feel the way they used to. 

At first he blamed the freezing winters for his change of heart, but weeks of stressing over Mitch has brought him to realizations he hasn’t had time to compartmentalize yet. 

Auston just doesn’t appreciate the build up of sweat pooling in the small of his back when he tans outside anymore, or the feel of a good run like he used to. Those things just mean heat now. And heat means sweat, and sweat means dehydration, and the slightest bit of dehydration means Mitch is more likely to pass out. 

So, yeah, maybe it’s not the Canadian winters that have made Auston’s love of summer turn sour, but instead Mitch’s condition. 

It’s hard to think about why he now hates the weather that reminds him of home, so Auston tries not to, living day by day only to keep himself from breaking down with worry. The tension surrounding him just never seems to bleed out, especially not as Mitch’s dizzy spells hit harder and more frequently the hotter it gets. 

But Mitch, he never falters. 

“Two tickets,” he says, one random day, a piece of paper in each hand as he vaults over the ottoman and digs his knees into the once-pleasant cocoon Auston has made on the couch. 

Air conditioning has been their saving grace these last few days. He thinks this is how the other guys must manage it; soaking in the sun between cool downs to make up for the frigid winters. 

Auston doesn’t have to look up from his bundle of blankets for long. Mitch impatiently shoves the tickets closer to his face. 

They’re two seats on a flight to Arizona. 

It’ll only be worse there, hotter and more humid than Mitch could even imagine. 

“Mitch,” Auston starts, apologetically, and sits up to face the slowly fading smile his boyfriend had waltz in with. He tries to reach for his hand, to take the plane tickets and see a date, but Mitch pulls away from him like he’s angry. “You’ve been stressed all summer, Matts,” he says softly, hurt. “I know something’s wrong.” 

Auston doesnt know what Mitch expects. He can’t tell him it’s because of him. 

Instead, he grabs for the ticket closest to him and leans in to press a fleeting kiss on the apple of Mitch’s cheek. 

“Thank you, Mitchy.” He pulls him in for a hug for good measure, able to hide his own distraught expression in Mitch’s shoulder. “This is just what I needed,” he lies, and Mitch’s arms finally come up around him and squeeze back, tight. 

***

Because some things never change, Arizona is predictably hotter than hell. Even Auston balks at the dry heat that burns him when they step out of the airport. 

Mitch takes no such pause. With a destination in mind, he barrels past Auston, a bag thrown over each shoulder. He doesnt even hesitate at the stab of warmth that floods the air. 

It’s a pride thing, more than anything, that forces Auston to jog after him. 

“Mitchy,” he calls, to beg him to take his time. Just an hour ago Mitch was laid down flat in baggage claim, his hand shaking in Auston’s and his eyes wandering the ceiling dizzily. After sitting for the duration of the flight, he only made it so far before an episode took him out. 

The airport first aid staff had been next to useless, but Auston didn’t expect much to begin with, especially after being so used to the usual constant care the leafs’ medical staff provide.

Since Mitch’s earlier episode today, he’s been over-perky, as if his endless energy would make Auston forget the half hour they spent waiting for his dizziness to cease. 

“Keep up,” Mitch throws over his shoulder, unbothered.

Auston doesnt even have a chance to sigh. “How about you slow down.” He has to force his body to keep up, especially as his lungs protest and heat builds uncomfortably on him, sticking his shirt to his back with sweat. 

Between the airplane air and this climate, he’s going to need to double up on his skin care routine. It’s just another reason to hate the heat. 

After another plea, Mitch finally comes to a stop at the line of pick up cars. 

Auston doesnt even try to hide the way he’s hacking for air, his lungs scratchy with the change in humidity.

“You’re out of shape, Matty,” Mitch chirps, smile dumb and too wide. It’s nice to see him enjoying himself, even if it is mostly bravado. 

Auston pushes him just to have an excuse to lay his hand on some skin. “Better shape than you,” he fires back, despite how obviously untrue it is. 

When Mitch turns away from him, seemingly in surrender, Auston can see Mitch mocking him in the outside reflection of the airport windows. It’s just bratty enough that he goes in to pinch the underside of Mitch’s bicep, where he knows it’ll hurt the worst. 

“_Stop. You’re such an ass_,” Mitch tells him, twitching away from him with one hand out to bat away Auston’s attack. He somehow simultaneously still manages to justify a similar counterattack. 

Auston would feel bad, but the second he pulls Mitch into a side hug as a stunted faux-apology, there’s two fingers digging into his underarm, where Mitch knows he’s the most ticklish. 

He doesnt hold back. 

If they weren’t in public, Auston would show him who really has the upper hand here. 

Instead, a fond, chastising call of “_Boys_,” pulls them apart. 

Auston’s heart grows as warm as the desert around them at the voice. 

He turns to find his Mom waiting by her car, the trunk already open for their luggage. She looks good, even better when she’s not grainy over a bad FaceTime connection. 

“Mom,” he responds weakly, and leaves Mitch in the dust to pull her into a hug. The last time they spoke, he told her he wasn’t coming home all summer. She promised that she and his dad would visit, but that didn’t stop the disappointment on both ends. 

Auston just couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Mitch to face the summer and his rising number of episodes alone. 

“Papi,” she wheezes out, a laugh bubbling past her lips as he crushes her with a hug. He missed her more than anything. There’s an easiness that surrounds her; a gentle, loving nature that makes Auston instantly feel settled. 

He didn’t realize how stiffly he was holding himself until now, when the ache of tension has finally bled out of his shoulders. 

When he wills himself to pull away from her, she holds his face in her hands, her eyes searching him. “You look like you need a good meal,” she decides on, with a nod to herself. 

Auston can see the worry in her eyes and the way she takes in the bags under his own and the lines he’s gained on his forehead. 

“We both do,” he says, and pulls away towards Mitch, to get away from her knowing gaze. 

Without a drop of hesitation, Mitch goes in for a hug. It’s something Auston’s always loved about him, how open and comfortable he is with affection. Hugging Ema like that, Mitch is much taller than her, and when her arms circle around him at his waist, she tisks at Auston. “You’re starving this poor boy,” she teases. “He’s got no meat on his bones.”

In an unknowingly similar way to just seconds ago, she pinches at Mitch’s bicep. 

The look Mitch sends over the top of Ema’s head has an evil glint shining in his blue eyes. 

Mitch is never one to back down from a good lashing, so he playfully gives Ema ammo she doesnt need. “I’ve lost four pounds,” he says with exaggerated sorrow, “and last night Auston refused to get pizza with me.” Somehow, he says it with enough innocence to imply that he wasn’t suggesting they break their meal plans for their third time that week. 

Still, Auston’s Mom slaps at him, even as he argues that their trainers would’ve found out as soon as they lugged their way into their first practice. 

As they go on chirping, Auston tries to stay light and joking, but Mitch’s weight loss has hung heavy over him. It seems no matter what they do the pounds keep shedding off of Mitch. He promised Auston that it was usual for him in the beginning of summer- that it was his body’s way of acclimating to the changing temperature and higher number of episodes- but that did nothing to quell the rising anxiety in Auston’s chest. 

He’s scared one day he’ll look at Mitch only to find him wilted down to nothing. 

Their teasing and Auston’s perfected mask breaks off with a promise from Ema of a four course meal for dinner that night.

Something about that- imagining Mitch at his family’s dinner table- does it for Auston; like nothing could hurt them when all the people he loves are in one place and enjoying their time together. 

Content, he presses a quick kiss to Mitch’s forehead and goes off to load their bags for them. 

“You two can rest when we get back, you look exhausted,” his Mom tells him. That doesnt stop him from stealing the car keys from her. 

He loves driving in his hometown, loves all the familiar streets and highways, and he’s thankful to have his Mom is the passenger’s seat and Mitch in the back, both to give them time to talk and to sleep away the restlessness from his earlier episode. 

Every couple of miles, Auston can’t help but check the rearview mirror. 

He watches Mitch’s head drop over and over again, until he cant take it. 

“Babe,” he calls softly. 

Mitch blinks up at him blearily, slowly meeting Auston’s eyes in mirror. 

“My sweatshirt is in my backpack, you can use it as a pillow.” 

Still half asleep, Mitch just groggily nods at him. Auston can hear him pawing at the bag in the seat next to him though, so he goes back to the conversation he was having with his Mom. 

He can’t deny that there’s a certain proud and knowing fondness written blatantly over her face. 

“So cute, Papi,” she teases, and nudges him. 

It’s just his mom, but still, his face heats. He knows it’ll only get worse once his sisters and Dad join the mix. 

“Tell me about home,” he says, to change the subject. In jest, his Mom raises an eyebrow, but ultimately complies anyway, starting off on Alex’s new job. 

It’s the kind of easy conversation that makes the drive fly by and makes him realize he really missed this, maybe even more than he let himself realize. 

Of everything that’s changed over the past couple of months, home is still home. He pulls into the driveway and gets out of the car like he did nearly everyday back in high school, his eyes shooting to the living room window where his dog’s nose is pressed up against the glass. She’s old enough now that he’s surprised to see her paws pressed to the window too, her tail going wild behind her at just the sight of them. 

He’s too distracted to notice the catch of breath that sounds behind him and the following hissed swear. 

What he does hear is his Mom’s frantic call for him. 

When he turns, in a second that takes too long, Mitch is already leaned heavily against the car, a hand covering his forehead and eyes in a way that tells Auston that his vision is out and he’s seconds from losing consciousness. 

It’s natural now for him to wrap his arms around Mitch’s waist and guide Mitch’s searching hand to his shoulder. “Hey, you’re okay. I got you, I’m right here,” he soothes. He knows Mitch hates it most when his vision goes out in unfamiliar places, where he cant find his way around. 

“Let’s sit you down,” Auston starts, but Mitch shakes his head ‘no,’ and burrows closer to hide each panting breath against Auston’s collar bone. 

Each lungful of air he takes in is accompanied by the clenching and unclenching of his fists in the fabric covering Auston’s shoulder and chest, like Mitch’s counting the seconds it takes to right himself. 

“I’m fine,” Mitch promises, on his third breath in.

“You’ve got time,” Auston counters, and holds him tighter, nearly begging him not to step away so soon. 

While Auston breathes with him, Mitch’s hand slips heavily to the back of his shirt and holds on there instead, like keeping it high up on his shoulder took too much effort. 

Just from those two points of contact, Auston can feel how bad Mitch is trembling. “You need to lay down,” he argues. 

“Really- _just please_\- I’m fine.” 

Mitch likes to make promises even when he’s very clearly not okay. So unsure, Auston pulls back just to really look at him. “Is your vision coming back yet?” 

Mitch shakes his head again, and his eyes blink open and close blankly, like he’s trying to clear them. 

“Papi, what can I do?” Ema is hovering just at their backs, her fingers twisting nervously together like she doesnt know what to do with her hands. 

Auston looks back at her with a weak smile and wonders how to send her away without insulting her. “Could you get him water inside? We’ll be in, in a second.” 

He hates to push her away, but he knows Mitch is going to be embarrassed the second he’s able to stand on his own again. 

And like he predicted, Mitch tries to run over his words. “No, I’m fine, really, I don’t need anything.” 

There’s not a day in Auston’s Mom’s life where she’s believed those words. 

Knowing better, she squeezes Auston’s shoulder as she passes him. “I’ll get you both some water, it must’ve been a long day for you two.” 

The second the sound of the house door closing hits them and they’re alone, Mitch sags against Auston completely, grumbling out words that get buried in Auston’s chest. 

Auston rearranges them to hear better. “Say that again,” he prods. 

Annoyed, Mitch huffs out a breath of air he really shouldn’t be so flippant about, especially as his chest heaves. 

“_This sucks_.” It’s said with feeling. 

There’s nothing worse than the hate Mitch inflicts on himself for something he cant control. 

With no other way to comfort him, Auston presses a kiss into his hair. “She loves you, Mitchy. My whole family does.” 

When he calls home these days, it seems they ask more about Mitch than they do about him. “They’re not going to care if you have to take a breather every once in a while.” 

The sarcastic huff that comes from Mitch is his only response, so Auston waits him out patiently, one hand stoking up and down his back until he realizes how much time has passed. 

“What’s your vision looking like?” 

Mitch grumbles into his collar again, but with one nudge from Auston, he pulls his head to the side to grumble some more, even less comprehensible words. It takes a second for the sentence to register, but eventually Auston decodes a gruff and self-punishing, “I dunno, I’m keeping them closed. I’m trying to pretend none of this happened.” 

Auston would slap him if Mitch wasn’t already seeing stars. 

“Shut up,” he whispers instead, with heat, as if they need more in the already scorching desert. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me and everyone in my family agrees. Hell, Mitchy, they think you’re cute when you get dizzy.” 

In disbelief, Mitch snorts again into his shoulder. “Because they’ve only seen me ‘getting dizzy’ over FaceTime when I’m just snuggled against you.” 

Auston’s never been one to goad Mitch’s insecurities, but even he can admit that the reality of Mitch’s condition is much more terrifying. “Honestly,” he says, “I think they think it’s cute because they’re not used to seeing me care about and for someone the way I care about and for you.” 

His blatant truth and vulnerability quiets Mitch instantly. 

“Still with me?” Auston jokes weakly. He tries not to let his own insecurities bleed into the conversation. 

Gently, Mitch pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “I love you,” he says into the skin there. 

Somehow finding himself being the one comforted, Auston’s eyes slip shut. He loves this, loves feeling Mitch in his arms, feeling the trust and faith bottled in the moment as Mitch trusts him to handle his dizzy spells.

“I love you too.” 

They stay there for just a little longer, until Mitch is steady on his own. It takes longer since he refuses to sit, but they get there eventually. 

“Ready?” Auston asks, and Mitch nods, leaning on him as they go inside. 

The second they’re in Ema is there. “How’re you feeling honey?” She asks, clearly worried. 

Auston has to motion to her to ease off as she hovers. 

“Much better,” Mitch promises with a shaky nod, even as he lets Auston hold most of his weight. 

Thankfully, when his Mom brings them waters, Mitch accepts it with nothing more than a slight blush and a ‘thank you.’ He even lets Auston help him settle on one of the kitchen stools. 

It’s all easy conversation from there, Ema busy at the stove as they talk, keeping her concern at bay. 

It’s nice until his isnt, when the front door opens. Auston’s happy to see his Dad come home, wearing a pleased smile and with a plethora of hugs to pass around. And while they talk for a while about their days and that’s fine, the good mood dies shortly after. 

“Auston, why don’t you show Mitch the guest room,” his Dad suggests, “I’m sure you boys want a second to relax before the girls get home and we have dinner.” 

And Auston’s dumb, beautiful, idiotic boyfriend agrees like a broken bobble head, set on avoiding confrontation. But Auston stands his ground on what him and Mitch talked about before they came. 

He gulps, squares his shoulders, and tries to feel like the adult he is. “Actually, I was thinking Mitch would stay in my room with me.” 

At the stove, his Mom stops stirring. His Dad’s eyes are wide. 

“Oh,” his Dad starts, and looks to Ema for an easy way out. She shrugs back just as wide-eyed, her focus on making dinner overly exaggerated to avoid the coming conflict. 

Under the counter top, Mitch kicks at him. The silence is stretching on to a point of awkwardness. 

“Auston,” his Dad starts, and he’s already wearing an apologetic expression, “we told you kids, when you bring home a partner, you’re not going to sleep in the same room until you’re married.” 

“We live together,” Auston argues. “Do you think we have separate rooms at home?” 

Mitch very pointedly rubs at a spot in the granite counter, his eyes refusing to raise. Auston can see a blush starting to rise up, hot on his cheeks. 

“Those are the rules, Auston,” his Dad says, final. 

With no choice, Auston pulls out his final argument. “Mitch normally has episodes in the morning and when he gets up from bed. I need to be there.” It’s his turn to kick Mitch under the counter. 

When his boyfriend’s panicked eyes meet his, Auston nudges him on until Mitch swallows his embarrassment at them pushing the rules. 

“It’s true,” he tells Auston’s parents awkwardly. “Normally I can tell how the whole day’s going to go just by that first time I sit up.” 

Usually Auston wouldn’t press this issue with a ten foot pole. It was enough to come out to his religious parents, and though they’re nothing but accepting, he’s not exactly looking forward to putting ‘living together' and ‘sex before marriage’ on the list of issues on their minds. 

He wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t necessary, but it’s been nearly six months since him and Mitch slept in separate places and neither of them are prepared to face Mitch’s condition alone. At least when they share a room, Auston is there the second something happens and Mitch is at ease knowing he’s not going to crack his head open and bleed out alone. 

When an answer from his Dad doesnt come, Auston pushes on. 

“We moved in together because during the season we were on the phone together and Mitch passed out. I didn’t know if he was alive or bleeding out from a head wound, I just knew he couldn’t get back to the phone. That was the worst fifteen minutes of my life. I don’t want to do that again. It’s just safer for him and easier for me if we’re together.” 

His Mom, the one who ultimately made the ‘no room sharing under her roof until marriage’ rule, leans over the counter to grab the hand he doesnt have laced with Mitch’s. 

“Of course you can share a room,” she reassures them. He didn’t realize how panicked he must have sounded to get her to look at him with such sympathetic concern. 

“Thanks,” he chokes out, and avoids whatever could possibly come next by getting up and helping Mitch up after him, making sure he takes his time so he doesnt get dizzy. 

The attention makes Mitch roll his eyes, but he’s thankful none the less, a hand always in Auston’s even as they grab their luggage and head upstairs. 

The awkwardness was worth being able to share a room. 

“So this is it,” Auston says, and pushes open his bedroom door. The familiarity of his childhood home fits like a warm glove. As he flings their bags by the closet, Mitch walks in carefully behind him, hiding a smile as he goes to run a hand over the photos, metals, and posters hung up all around the room. 

“I love this,” Mitch says, and shows Auston a picture he had forgotten existed. It’s him and his Mom, one of the first summers back in Arizona from Switzerland. 

“You’re so tan,” Mitch teases. The burn Auston’s supporting in the picture makes his cheeks and nose look rosy. 

“Speaking of that, we should get sunscreen for you tomorrow,” Auston chirps and bounces onto his old bed that’s pressed in the corner of the room. It’s just as comfortable as he last remembered it, the sheets smelling like home and the laundry detergent his mom uses. 

As he rests, Mitch keeps walking around, picking up things and showing some of them to Auston, as if he’s never seen his own stuff. It’s nice that Mitch loves this part of him. 

He lets himself bask in the moment, watching sleepily from the bed as Mitch continues to make his rounds, reading every trophy plaque and studying every photo. 

He doesnt realize he’s fallen asleep until Mitch is jumping next to him on the bed, suddenly freshly showered and smelling like flowers. 

“What shampoo did you use?” His arms wrap around Mitch’s middle, even as his boyfriend fights him to stay sitting up. 

“I’m not laying down Aus, I’ve got to keep my blood pressure up.” At his insistence, Auston gives up trying to pull him down and instead pushes himself into Mitch’s lap like an overgrown cat. 

He doesnt even have to ask, Mitch just starts running his fingers through his hair, occasionally rubbing down his neck and under the back of his shirt. The unknown pattern of movements has him sinking fully into the feeling, waiting for the next press of pressure on his spine. 

“I think it was your sister’s stuff,” Mitch answers finally. Auston’s already half asleep, but still, he cracks open a eye. “If it’s Alex’s she’s going to murder you, if it’s Breyana’s you’re fine.” 

Mitch seems unworried. “Your sisters love me.” 

***

Later Mitch’s words prove to be true when Alex hugs him and laughs. “You smell great,” she says teasingly. 

Admittedly less exaggerated than he plays, Auston’s mouth drops open in shock and anger. “When I use your stuff I get my hair pulled, but when he uses it it’s fine?” 

At his side, Breyana pats placatingly at his arm. “Yeah, Alex,” she challenges. Auston’s surprised that for once she’s taken his side. “We all know Aus can’t stand to lose much more hair.” 

He pushes the arm she has slung around his shoulders away. “Rude,” he tells her. 

Her winning smile almost makes up for the hyena laughs Alex and Mitch are cackling out. 

Somehow he feels like he should’ve known they’d gain up on him, but after waiting so long for them to meet Mitch as his boyfriend and not as a teammate, he finds he doesnt mind the near-constant ribbing that steadily grows. He’s just too happy to care when Mitch fits in with his family so seamlessly.

***

After a dinner that nearly breaks the elastic on his pants, they all fight over watching a movie or playing cards. 

Auston can already tell that Mitch is doing his best to stay moving, to stay awake and keep the seemingly constant dizziness at bay, so he tugs at Alex’s arm and tells her quietly that they should probably do something relaxing. A second ago she was arguing vehemently for a game night, but she drops it instantly in understanding and gives Auston’s arm a soft squeeze. 

“Lets go pick a movie out,” she tells Breyana. To her credit, Breyana doesnt even stutter over the change in tune from either older sibling. 

While they go off to argue over which movie to watch, Auston makes himself comfortable at the breakfast counter. He cant help but devour the sight of his boyfriend leaned against the kitchen counter, a towel in one hand and a plate in the other as Ema washes and he dries. 

Normally Auston would be the one doing dishes, but his Mom had pushed him back in his seat to catch up more with his sisters. The only reason Mitch got recruited was because he admitted to Ema that he needed to stay moving. 

Not that Auston was too worried, but it’s nice to see his family be so welcoming to them and accommodating. It makes something turn in his stomach in a way he cant quite place. It’s almost like homesickness, but for what’s in front of him because he knows this will only be this way for so long, all of them together for just a couple more days. 

His Dad’s hand, that lands and squeezes his shoulder to get his attention, shocks him out of his longing stare. 

“What’s up?” He asks. His Dad just smiles at him knowingly. 

“Why don’t you come into the living room with us? Let your Mom and Mitch talk.” He says it to the two at the sink, with a wink at Ema. She laughs at his antics, but waves Auston away anyway. 

“Mitchy?” Auston asks, before he goes. 

Mitch gives him a soft, happy smile. “I’m good, Aus, go.” 

Still, it’s hard to leave. He knows he’s been overbearing lately, but the summer months have been hard on him. He thought he was settling into their routine, but seeing Mitch’s condition amped up has been rough. 

“We picked Bridesmaids,” Alex tells him when he finally tears himself away. They’ve all seen the movie at least a hundred times. 

“Whatever,” he concedes, and steals one of the corners of the ridiculously large couch that takes up their livingroom. 

Breyana has no problem plopping down right next to him, but when she goes to steal the blanket he was eyeing up, he draws the line. The resulting wrestling match doesnt last long. He’s tried from traveling all day and she fights with a ruthlessness that betrays her normally pleasant attitude. 

As much as he pretends to be annoyed by his sisters, it’s nice to be able to playfully fight and argue and know they still have to love him at the end of the day. 

“Missed you guys,” he says quietly, as if hoping if he doesnt say it loud enough they wont hear. 

They hear anyway and Alex coos at him mockingly, but Breyana’s lips purse like they do when she’s trying to hide a smile. 

“Sap,” she teases him, when he looks at her knowingly. It’s hard being so far away from home so often. He really missed them. 

To avoid the sudden blurriness in his eyes, he forces himself up to grab a blanket. Mitch isnt far behind him, looking at the couch and available spots like it’s a test he didn’t study for. 

“Sit with me,” Auston tells him, and makes himself comfortable laying down. Mitch gingerly lays with him, tense like they’re under a microscope. 

“No one cares if you lay with me,” Auston whispers to him to reassure him. The words do little to help. It isnt until the lights go off, the movie turns on, and his parents cuddle up in a similar way, that Mitch finally relaxes against him. 

“I don’t think I can stay awake,” he tells Auston a minute in, regretful as if he’s letting him down. 

In all honesty, Auston loves it when Mitch falls asleep with him. There’s a certain level of trust and protectiveness that floods him as he holds him and keeps him sleeping soundly through the night. “That’s okay, we can sleep here if you cant get up after the movie.” 

“I just want to be better for tomorrow,” Mitch whispers back. Even in the dark, dim light only coming from the TV, Auston can see how apologetic Mitch is. 

Auston squeezes him tight. “Even if we just watch movies with my sisters all day tomorrow, it’ll be the best vacation.” 

He means every word. He’d rather be here, knowing Mitch is feeling okay, than out hiking the desert and wondering if each step would be Mitch’s last for the day. 

***

By the time the movie ends, Mitch is dead to the world, snoring softly in little puffs of air. 

“Mom said he almost passed out earlier?” Alex has never been one to beat around the bush, and she doesnt now as the kitchen lights turn on and his parents leave them in the living room. 

“Yeah,” Auston answers in a whisper, “and he almost did at the airport too.” He doubts an earthquake would wake Mitch right now, but he doesnt want to take any chances yet. 

The wince Breyana tries to hide from his answer doesnt go unnoticed. “Why don’t we binge watch friends tomorrow?” She asks, for Mitch’s sake, so that he has time to recuperate. 

Auston loves his sisters. 

“Yeah,” he agrees, “that sounds perfect.”

When his parents come back from the kitchen, sans empty popcorn bowls, his mom drags the girls off, with their dad not far behind. They pass ‘goodnights,’ and long after he hears movement from upstairs cease, he finally sneaks out from under Mitch and shakes him awake. 

“It’s over already?” Mitch asks, peaking up at the darkened Tv. 

He’s cute like this, big yawns obstructing every other word and his bed hair tussled and fluffy. 

“Yeah, Babe. You slept through it all. Do you think you can get up?” 

Nodding, Mitch reaches his hand out for help. As much as he hates this part, Auston’s good at it after so much practice. 

He keeps a steady hold on Mitch as he pulls him up to a sitting position. After unwavering eye contact, he pulls him up until he’s standing. 

“Still have your vision?” He asks, just to be sure, even though Mitch’s eyes are honed in on him, alight and cognizant. 

“I’m good,” he promises, and this time, he means it, even though they have to take a second more to let Mitch steady himself when a wave hits late. 

After slow steps- and even slower ones on the steps- they eventually make it to bed without issue, wrapped around one another and filled with a thankfulness they cant quite find the words to express. 

“Today was perfect,” Auston tells Mitch. The ceiling stares back at him, dark blue and painfully familiar. He wishes his younger self could see him now. 

“It’s because of your family,” Mitch says. Auston spares a glance his way just to catch a glimpse of his content, soft smile. 

The moment feels heavy, but good, and teasingly, Auston nudges Mitch’s nose with his own. “Just them?” he asks. 

Like it was never even a question, Mitch closes the distance between them. 

When they pull apart, his eyes are bright and loving, but only for a second before they’re already slipping back closed. “You were pretty great too, I guess,” he mumbles. His bitten-down smirk betrays his nonchalance. 

Huffing out a laugh, Auston burrows in closer, wanting to live in this moment for the rest of his life; falling asleep with Mitch tucked away, safe, in his arms. 

After a minute of trading deep breaths while lost in thought, Auston leans closer and presses a “Goodnight” into Mitch’s shoulder with a kiss. 

The heavy snore he gets back is as good as any ‘I love you.’ 

He knows then that no matter what- no matter how bad Mitch's condition gets- that they'll be okay as long as they allow themselves these little moments of peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments feed the writer!
> 
> Sorry for the long wait :) If there's another fic in this verse you'd like to see let me know!


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